I Promise to Protect You
by S.P.D. Gold Ranger
Summary: Even through all the atrocities they'd suffered... she knew he would keep his promise to her. *Ojamajo Doremi Breakaway companion piece*


"_You... you little demon child..."_

"_What? What do you mean, daddy?"_

"_You... I never thought you'd do that..."_

_The young girl slowly backed away from her enraged father._

"_If it wasn't for you... your mother would still be alive... how could you?!"_

_That's when the man made his move, advancing on the little girl and lashing out with a series of punches that the girl couldn't block in time._

"_You killed her... all because you were born, you little brat!!!"_

"_What?! Why are you saying that, daddy?!" the girl exclaimed, trying to stand up through her injuries._

"_It's ALL YOUR FAULT!!!"_

_Just before the man could throw another punch, a boy about the girl's age jumped from the banister and knocked the man down with a flying kick._

"_Onii-chan!!!" the girl exclaimed, happy to see the boy._

_The boy wasted no time in scooping his little sister into his arms._

"_You know, dad, you are some piece of work," the boy stated, sounding quite enraged. "It wasn't her fault okaa-sama died!! You know damn well she had health problems!! It wasn't my sister's doing!!"_

"_You shut up... that stupid little brat should never have been born..." the father growled. "She's a damn murderer..."_

"_I don't care what you think of her," the boy shot back. "She's still my onee-chan, and I'm not letting you hurt her anymore."_

"_That brat must pay for what she's done!!!" the father raged, already having lost his composure. "Our mother could have survived if it wasn't for her!!!"_

"_Do you have any idea what you're saying, dad?!" the boy shouted._

_The father just screamed and lashed out again. The boy was having trouble trying to block his angry father's punches while holding his sister in his arms._

_Guess it was time for the direct approach._

_The boy backed up a couple steps to build up momentum, then charged forward, going into a flying leap over his enraged father._

_Once he was clear, the boy continued running, not stopping for anything._

"_Onii-chan... he... he accused me of murdering my mommy..." the girl cried. The boy reached out and ruffled his sister's hair affectionately._

"_Don't blame yourself, onee-chan," the boy responded. "It's not your fault. Otou-san just got blinded by his rage. No one blames you for this."_

_All of a sudden, the boy noticed someone ahead. Skidding to an abrupt stop, he was quite surprised to see that their father had followed them._

"_I will exact my vengeance," the father growled. "That brat will receive her due punishment for ripping my wife apart!!!"_

"_Why don't you come over here and try me?" the boy challenged, holding his sister close as he tensed up._

_Just as the father prepared to attack, everything faded to white._

"OTOU-SAN, NO!!!!"

Fourteen-year-old Yuki Shinoya jolted out of her bed, drenched in cold sweat and shaking like crazy from the nightmare she'd just had. She quickly looked to her right towards her brother, sixteen-year-old Nick Kelly, and was relieved to see that her scream hadn't woken him up.

_Nick-kun always was a heavy sleeper,_ Yuki thought.

"That tragic day just won't leave my mind," Yuki stated to nobody in particular. "It even gets into my dreams... I just want to forget what otou-san did to us..."

Making up her mind, Yuki slowly slid out of the bed she and her brother were sharing here at the Through the Night Hotel. Fixing the covers so they wouldn't disturb her brother's slumber, she strode out of the hotel room and into the star-filled night.

Walking through Misora at this time of the night was very peaceful. God only knows how many times she'd done it before when she couldn't sleep. These kinds of trips had become pretty common for her ever since she and Nick had severed their ties to their enraged father and rushed away to start a new life together.

It had been Nick's insistence, being that with the way their father was handling the death of their mother not long after Yuki had been born, Nick had eventually figured it was high time they got the hell out of there.

As Yuki continued to stroll through the hilly town she and her brother had grown up in, her thoughts drifted back to the nightmares she'd been having... the bad dreams that continually played out that fateful day.

She didn't want those bad dreams dominating her for the rest of her life.

It just wasn't fair.

After a while, she eventually found herself under the shade of a large oak tree. This particular tree was very familiar to her, as she'd come here many times at night to escape the hustle and bustle of Misora nightlife.

She sat down at the base of the tree's trunk, staring towards the collection of stars in the dark navy-blue sky.

"Every time... I can't stand it..." Yuki wondered.

"Hey there."

Yuki almost leapt right into a tree branch upon hearing that. She spun around and considerably relaxed when she saw her brother standing there.

"How'd you know I'd be here, Nick-kun?"

"You ALWAYS come to this tree when you're feeling like this," Nick responded with a bit of a laugh. "So what's the matter?"

Nick sat down by his sister. "Talk to me."

Yuki looked over towards her brother. "It was that dream again..."

Nick nodded in understanding. "It'd be hard on anybody, Yuki-chan. I still can't get that atrocity out of my head."

"I don't want it dominating my life... I just want those bad times to go away..." Yuki cried, the tears starting to fall.

Nick knew what was about to happen. He'd played this part many, many times before.

Almost as if it was second nature to him by now, Nick wrapped his arms around his cute little sister.

"I know we're going through rough times, Yuki-chan, but you've gotta remember that you have your friends by your side," Nick explained.

Nick leaned forward and kissed his sister on the forehead. "And you've got me. Remember, even if the whole world turned its back on you... I'll always be there for you."

Yuki couldn't help but smile at that. Her big brother certainly had a way with words.

"I know, Nick-kun."

As Nick stroked his sister's twilight-black hair affectionately, he whispered their 'magic word'.

"Nankurunaisa."

Yuki then threw her arms around her brother.

"I love you, Nick-kun."

"I love you, too, Yuki-chan."

Nick looked at his watch; it was almost four in the morning. "Good thing tomorrow's a Saturday. You wanna head back to the hotel, Yuki-chan?"

"Could you carry me?" Yuki asked, blushing a bit.

"How could I say no to you, Yuki-chan?" Nick laughed, scooping his little sister into his arms and racing back towards the hotel.

As she looked back up at the stars, Yuki sighed happily.

_I know he'll keep his promise,_ Yuki thought, _because Nick-kun is someone precious to me._

Yuki looked back at her brother.

_And that's the way it's always going to be._


End file.
